


There is Just One Thing I Need

by Bittersweet_in_Boston



Series: Going Up [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anal Play, Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, Christmas Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Having the talk, M/M, Rimming, Steve Rogers is an excellent boyfriend, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittersweet_in_Boston/pseuds/Bittersweet_in_Boston
Summary: So here’s Bucky at Steve’s place for the weekend. Bucky has insisted on doing all the cooking, partly because he loves to cook and partly because Steve can hardly scramble eggs. He’s obsessively planned all their meals for the next two days and has the spreadsheet on his laptop to prove it.Tomorrow on Christmas they’re having the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and cranberry relish, but tonight Bucky is mixing it up and broiling filets mignon with homemade Bearnaise sauce, homemade cheesecake for dessert, and these smoked salmon popovers for appetizers. He’s set up the wine pairings to go with every course, including champagne cocktails for tomorrow’s Christmas brunch. Everything is going to be just perfect.The holiday Spotify mix playing over the speakers from Bucky’s phone has switched over to Donny Hathaway, so Bucky sings along.  “And this Christmas...will be...a very special Christmas...for me...” He’s tempted to open the Riesling and have a glass now, but he wants to wait for Steve.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Going Up [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944616
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	There is Just One Thing I Need

**Author's Note:**

> Just some pure Christmas fluff, folks! There is almost nothing bad or angsty here, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!
> 
> The title of this fic is, of course, from Mariah Carey’s classic Christmas song.

“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know, make my wish come truuue...”

Bucky sings along with Mariah Carey as he puts the marinated filets on a baking sheet and checks the stove. He’s about to put the smoked salmon and lemon-chive popovers in to cook and the oven has to be at full temperature of 450F. Satisfied that it’s all ready, he carefully slides the muffin tin into the hot oven.

“I won’t ask for much this Christmas, I won’t even wish for snow...” Bucky smiles as he sings this line, looking out the window where big flakes are falling on Brooklyn and brightening up the grey afternoon.

 _We might have a white Christmas after all,_ he thinks. He sets the oven timer and then checks to see that the Riesling is chilling nicely in the fridge.

Bucky is singing and cooking at Steve’s apartment, on the corner of Carroll Street and Bedford Avenue just a few blocks from Prospect Park. He and Steve are spending Christmas together this year. Bucky usually spends the holidays with his parents at their house in Bay Ridge, but Winnie and George decided to rent a villa in Barbados this year as a 40th anniversary present to themselves, and Bucky’s older sister Becca flew to Chicago yesterday with her family to visit her in-laws.

And Steve usually does Christmas dinner with his Army buddy Sam, who’s now a counselor for the VA, and Sam’s family, but he put that off this year ‘til Sunday and asked Bucky to stay over. Steve’s only family was his mom, Sarah, who died of breast cancer a few years ago, just before Steve got out of the service.

When Bucky thinks about Steve’s mom, he gets a little wistful. The way Steve talks about her, she sounds like a wonderful person and he’s sorry he didn’t get the chance to meet her. And he’s also sad that Steve doesn’t have any close family anymore. Bucky’s parents drive him fucking crazy, but he’d be devastated if anything happened to either of them.

Bucky does feel a little close to Steve’s mom right now, though, because this is her apartment. When she died, Steve inherited her place (and the mortgage, Steve jokes), and it’s a beautiful, spacious two-bedroom on the second floor of the building, with exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and big windows looking out over the streets and a small yard in the back.

Bucky has spent a lot of time here lately, because Steve’s latest tenant (Sam) moved out a couple of months ago to move in with his girlfriend, and Steve hasn’t found a new roommate yet. Even before that, Bucky was spending the night here a couple times a week, especially on weekends. After that...ahem...very memorable night in the art studio at Columbia back in late June, when Steve and Bucky started dating, they’ve tried to see each other several times a week and have texted and called each other every day.

And while Bucky’s place is pretty nice and in a great part of Greenpoint, it’s quite a bit smaller and Bucky’s roommate Clint is there almost all the time, and usually with his girlfriend, Natasha. Bucky loves them both a lot, but the apartment is small enough that three of them is a crowd and when Steve comes over it’s even more so.

Plus Clint is really distractingly, distressingly loud when he and Nat have sex and his banshee howls reverberate through the thin divider walls.

So here’s Bucky at Steve’s place for the weekend. Bucky has insisted on doing all the cooking, partly because he loves to cook and partly because Steve can hardly scramble eggs. He’s obsessively planned all their meals for the next two days and has the spreadsheet on his laptop to prove it.

Tomorrow on Christmas they’re having the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and cranberry relish, but tonight Bucky is mixing it up and broiling filets mignon with homemade Bearnaise sauce, homemade cheesecake for dessert, and these smoked salmon popovers for appetizers. He’s set up the wine pairings to go with every course, including champagne cocktails for tomorrow’s Christmas brunch. Everything is going to be just perfect.

The holiday Spotify mix playing over the speakers from Bucky’s phone has switched over to Donny Hathaway, so Bucky sings along.“And this Christmas...will be...a very special Christmas...for me...” He’s tempted to open the Riesling and have a glass now, but he wants to wait for Steve.

Steve is out doing some last-minute errands and Bucky is not actually sure exactly where he is right now. He and Bucky had grabbed sandwiches for lunch and then after Steve got a text, he got all squirrelly and said he had to run out to “take care of some things” and he’d be back in plenty of time for hors d’oeuvres.

Bucky had been a little taken aback, but as he thinks about it now, looking out the window at the snow, it’s not really out of character. Steve does a lot more stuff spontaneously by the seat of his pants at the last minute, in contrast to Bucky who obsessively plans ahead and organizes everything by to-do lists and spreadsheets.

If Bucky had to guess, he’d say that Steve was going to pick up a gift for Sam for when Steve visits his friend’s family in The Bronx on Sunday night. There are already several tantalizing presents labeled “BUCKY” under Steve’s Charlie Brown tree that’s set up on a little table in front of the living room window, so Steve can’t be getting more stuff for him.

Bucky looks at the tree and shakes his head. He had wanted to get a more “perfect” tree last week when they went to pick it out, but Steve insisted and then covered it with colored lights and beautiful handmade ornaments - some his own work, some he inherited from his mom - so now Bucky loves it too.

As Bucky thinks about Steve, his phone buzzes in his pocket and sure enough, it’s a text from his boyfriend.

**Steve** ❤️

_Be home soon, just have one more stop to make xoxo_

Bucky smiles at this, and looks out the window beyond the tree to watch the snow fall. So far it looks like a pleasant snow, just coming down picturesquely and quietly in big flakes rather than a typical nor’easter with ice-covered snow pellets coming at you sideways out of a 60-mile-an-hour wind. He’s really going to enjoy cuddling up with Steve after dinner to watch _The Muppets Christmas Carol_ and feeling all warm and cozy. The only thing missing in this apartment is a fireplace, but you can’t have everything and otherwise it’s perfect.

Bucky comes out of his reverie over Steve and cuddling and fireplaces...to realize that there’s smoke coming out of the oven and his timer for the salmon popovers has been going off for what’s probably a while now.

“Oh shit!” Bucky yells, and scurries to the kitchen to try to rescue the hors d’oeuvres. Alas, they are beyond saving, blackened on the top. Bucky puts them on the stove and leans back against the island that separates the kitchen from the living room and dining nook. He feels a lump in his throat rise up. He’d planned this dinner so carefully to make sure that everything would be perfect...and now everything is a mess. They won’t have nice hors d’oeuvres and the steaks will probably burn too and it’ll all be ruined.

Bucky’s eyes fill with tears and he’s just about to go into full catastrophe mode when his phone buzzes repeatedly in his pocket. It’s Steve.

“Hey Steve,” Bucky says as he answers, trying hard to pull himself together.

“Hey Buck!” says Steve in a little louder voice than usual. It’s clear he’s in a crowded store given the high level of ambient noise in the background. “I’m at F&M just down the street picking up a few things. You need anything else for tonight or tomorrow?”

“No, no, everything’s fine...” Bucky starts to say, and then he looks at the charred popovers and can’t keep it up. “No, it’s not fine,” he bursts out as the tears start to fall for real. “I burned the hors d’oeuvres so we have no appetizers, and I’ll probably fuck up the entree too, and it’s a total disaster, Stevie, your boyfriend is a total disaster who’s ruined Christmas.” He sniffles loudly.

“Hey! Hey!” says Steve through the phone in as soothing a voice as he can muster in the midst of a crowded grocery store on Christmas Eve. “Buck, it’s OK, it’s gonna be OK. You won’t fuck up the entree and you haven’t ruined Christmas. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“But the popovers, Steve...” Bucky whines, and Steve cuts him off. “OK, so we won’t have popovers. I’ll get us some Ritz crackers and that disgusting wine cheese that’s terrible but tastes so good,” he teases. “No I’m kidding, really, it’ll be fine,” Steve insists. “Listen, Bucky...”

“Yeah,” hiccups Bucky, sniffling again. His nose is running and his tears are mixing with the snot. He is, honestly, kind of a mess.

“You’ve got that white wine chilling in the fridge, right?” Steve says into the phone. Then Bucky can distantly hear him say something to someone else, presumably to the cashier at F&M.

“Uh huh,” Bucky answers, looking around for tissues and settling for a paper towel to wipe his eyes and nose.

“Why don’t you open it up, pour yourself a glass, sit on the couch, and relax,” says Steve. The automatic exit door to the grocery sounds in the background. “I’ll be home in like 20 minutes and I’ll help you and do exactly what you tell me to do as your sous-chef, OK?”

Bucky takes a deep breath. “OK,” he says. Even hearing Steve’s voice on the phone is helping him calm down.

“And Buck?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not a disaster and I love you and I’ll be home with you very soon.”

Bucky smiles. “I love you too, Steve.”

And the thing is, Bucky really does. He’d wondered if what he felt for Steve after their incredible night in the art studio was love, especially as it marked the start of them officially dating. And the feelings had grown and grown over the following weeks, until Bucky had been with Steve at an opening of student art show at Columbia, at which Steve had premiered his shirtless portrait of Bucky. Steve had been talking to a professor and a couple of guests and had caught Bucky’s eye across the room and smiled his ridiculous smile, his face lighting up. And it had struck Bucky between the eyes right then how much he loved Steve.

Later that night as Bucky had lain under Steve feeling Steve’s dick softening inside him, Bucky had said it out loud and had immediately panicked, wondering if he could blame his statement on post-coital endorphins. But Steve had looked at Bucky, put his hand to Bucky’s face, and said, “I love you” right back, followed by the sweetest kiss Bucky’s ever gotten, so it had all been alright.

Now, months later, Bucky is still wildly in love with Steve and he’s wondering if Steve might be _The One_ , but he’s a little overwhelmed by those thoughts and he doesn’t want to freak Steve out by bringing it up too soon in their relationship. So he’s kept them to himself.

But he’s thinking about it now as he follows Steve’s orders and pours himself a glass of Riesling. Ella Fitzgerald, certified musical genius, is now singing “Winter Wonderland” over the speakers and Bucky relaxes onto the sofa and lets her voice wash over him. Soon he’s finished his wine and feeling more relaxed, and he’s starting to wonder if he can whip up something else for a starter when he hears the keys in the door. Steve!

Bucky bolts off the couch and toward the door to meet his boyfriend as he comes in. Steve is red-cheeked and red-nosed from the cold and carrying a couple of shopping bags, and he lights up when he sees Bucky. Bucky waits ‘til Steve sheds his coat and hat before launching himself at him. Steve catches him and holds him tight.

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” Bucky whispers into Steve’s neck as he feels Steve’s strong arms around him. “I didn’t mean to mess things up...and then whine to you about it.” To his horror he again feels tears prickle at the corner of his eyelids.

“Hey.” Steve lifts up Bucky’s face to look him in the eye. “First of all, I love you.” He kisses Bucky sweetly, and Bucky delights in the taste of Steve’s lips, cherry-flavored from his favorite chapstick and still cold from outside. “And second of all, of course you didn’t mean to burn the popovers, you planned everything really well.” Steve gently wipes the tears from Bucky’s eyes with cold hands.

“But...” Steve continues, “I’m glad you told me when I called, because...” he lifts up one of the bags. “I stopped at Mo Mo and got a couple of our favorite rolls for appetizers.” Bucky peers into the bag and sees familiar containers of maki. He looks up at Steve, who smiles. “I hope that’s an acceptable substitute?”

Bucky smiles back. “Yeah, Steve, it’s great,” he says softly, and leans in for another kiss. They kiss lovingly for a few minutes, until Bucky’s dick starts to take notice. He hastily pulls away, saying, “We should eat the sushi and then I’ll keep working on dinner.”

“But I was really enjoying _this_ appetizer,” Steve responds, pretending to pout and looking at Bucky’s kiss-bitten mouth from under his frankly infuriatingly fabulous eyelashes, a look which he knows from past experience that Bucky finds hard to resist.

For a second Bucky is tempted to say, “Fuck it” (literally) but he gets himself together and shakes his head. “Sushi,” he says firmly, grabbing Steve’s arm and pulling him toward the kitchen. “And then dinner and dessert.”

“Dessert, huh?” says Steve, smirking. “Please tell me that you’re dessert, my love.” He grabs Bucky’s ass.

“No, there’s cheesecake...” Bucky starts to say, and then cuts off with a sharp inhale as Steve sinks his mouth into Bucky’s neck and reaches under his ass to cup his balls. “OK, maybe I’m second dessert.”

*****

Later in the evening, when Steve has Bucky sprawled across his bed on his stomach and is enthusiastically eating Bucky’s ass, Bucky comes back into his mind just enough to stammer out, “Hey Steve...how’s your second dessert...uuuhhhhh...”

This last gasp is produced by Steve sliding two fingers into Bucky’s wet, loose hole along with his tongue. He removes his tongue to growl, “Fuckin delicious” and then without warning adds a third, well-lubed finger into Bucky, licking around the rim where his hand is stretching Bucky out in preparation for his dick.

Bucky moans and plants his face into the pillow.

*****

Later that evening, Bucky and Steve have showered and are lying on clean sheets on Steve’s bed. They’re still full of excellent food and still riding an intoxicating high of endorphins as they cuddle under the comforter. Bucky is tucked under Steve’s arm, pressing his naked body against Steve’s warm side and nuzzling gently against his neck. He’s feeling wonderfully happy and his heart thrills a little when he feels Steve kiss him on the forehead.

“Hey Buck,” Steve says in a low voice, kissing him again.

“Yeah, Steve,” murmurs Bucky into Steve’s shoulder, kissing his collarbone. He snuggles closer and rubs his free hand down Steve’s other side.

“I...uh...I have an early Christmas gift for you,” Steve replies in a voice with a slight thread of uncertainty in it.

“Christmas Eve gift??” Bucky’s voice is slightly incredulous and he lifts his head to look at his boyfriend. “I thought you were constitutionally opposed to Christmas Eve presents, love.” His voice is just the tiniest bit teasing. He’s heard a number of screeds about this from Steve over the past few weeks whenever the topic comes up. Steve doesn’t care if the Royal Family does it, he and his mom would never have thought of doing such a terrible thing, you have to wait til Christmas Day to open your presents, etc., etc.

Steve turns a little pink and looks sheepish. He reaches over with his free hand and ruffles Bucky’s hair, a little curlier now after their hot shower.

“I know, I know,” he says. “But this is something different...something special...and I don’t think I can wait til tomorrow to give it to you.”

Now Bucky is _really_ intrigued. What could it be that’s so special that even Steve, Mr. Have To Wait til Christmas Morning, would break his own rule?

“OK,” Bucky says, preening under Steve’s caresses. “Now I’m not sure I can wait either.”

Steve hesitates for just a second, then kisses Bucky’s forehead again and frees his arm so he can lean over toward the bedside table on his side of the bed and open the drawer. He reaches in, pulls out a small rectangular box wrapped in green and gold paper, and hands it to Bucky with almost a shy look on his face.

For a split second Bucky thinks this is a ring box and he freaks out just a little bit. Are he and Steve really ready to make _that_ leap? Then he looks more closely at the box and realizes it’s the wrong shape to be from a jewelry store - it’s shallower and wider. What the hell could it be? He looks at Steve, puzzled.

“Open it,” urges Steve. He’s eager, but still a little uncertain.

Bucky rips the paper off the box, contrary to his usual careful present-opening style, and takes off the lid.

There, on a bed of cotton wool, sits a small silver key.

Bucky looks at the key, and then at Steve, questions in his gaze.

“It’s...it’s your own key to this apartment,” Steve says softly. “Because I...I want you to move in with me.”

Bucky’s eyes open wide at this and he looks down at the key and back at Steve. His brain is spinning and he’s having trouble processing what he’s just heard.

“Steve, I...that would be amazing, I’ve honestly dreamed about living here with you, but...” and then Bucky’s head goes into practical organizational mode. “...but I’ve got another six months on my lease at my place with Clint, and...”

Steve looks bashful.

“So I kind of talked to Clint about it last week,” he says, looking down and back at Bucky through his beautiful eyelashes. “He said he’d miss you a lot, but he also said that Natasha could move in with him in January and take over your lease as a sublet.” Steve hesitates again. “So it’ll work. I mean, if you really do want to move in with me...if that’s OK...”

“Oh my god, Steve, I would _love_ to live here with you,” Bucky says. He picks up the key and looks at it. “I love your apartment and I love being here with you and...and...I love you so much.”

Steve’s eyes blaze. He takes the key and the box from Bucky and carefully puts them on the beside table before leaning back to fasten his lips on Bucky’s in a searing kiss.

“I love you, Bucky Barnes,” declares Steve when they come up for air a few minutes later. “I’m so excited to share my place...and my life...with you.”

Bucky’s eyes are glazed and he licks over his red, kiss-bitter lips before replying. “I love you so much, Steve. I can’t wait to be your live-in boyfriend.” The enormity of what’s happening hits him right then, and he shivers. “This is really gonna happen, isn’t it, Steve,” he says.

Steve smiles and leans in for another kiss before replying. “Yeah, it is,” he says softly. “We can talk more about it over the next few days, but I was just too excited to wait ‘til tomorrow. And now we can tell Clint and Natasha about it tomorrow as a Christmas present for them.”

Bucky sighs and leans back against the pillow. He’s a little overwhelmed right now, but in a very good way, and he couldn’t be more thrilled to take this next step with Steve. Obviously all his worries about having The Talk with Steve have been groundless, and he resolves to be more communicative with Steve about where they are in their relationship as they take this really big step.

Suddenly Bucky feels a pair of very warm, very soft lips kissing down his neck to his collarbone, and he gasps when Steve bites and sucks into the skin there to leave a mark.

“Oh god, Steve,” Bucky moans involuntarily, arching his back a little to get closer to that magical mouth. Steve licks at the spot where he’s left a bruise, and Bucky shivers at the feeling of pleasure with just that edge of pain.

Steve smiles against Bucky’s skin and kisses down his chest to lick around his nipple before heading south. He looks up from the vicinity of Bucky’s navel at the bedside clock and then at Bucky’s face, flushed and panting above him.

“It’s not quite midnight,” Steve murmurs, gently biting the skin around Bucky’s bellybutton and grinning when he gets a gasp in response. “But I think I’ll break my rule again and give you one...last...Christmas Eve present.” As he speaks he moves down to kiss the head of Bucky’s dick, now almost fully erect with a bead of pre-come on the tip.

“Oh god, Steve, oh god, yessss....” groans Bucky and throws his head back. It’s not even the 25th yet, and it’s already the Best Christmas _EVER_.

**Author's Note:**

> Smoked salmon and lemon-chive popovers are an actual thing; check out the recipe online from the Canadian LCBO! 
> 
> Team Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, I love the weird and scraggly trees and always campaign to get them at this time of year.


End file.
